The present invention relates to an articulated footrest assembly and a rocking chair using this footrest assembly.
In particular but not exclusively, the subject invention is concerned with a footrest assembly suitable for installation on a broad range of seating units, in particular but not exclusively when limited clearance is available for installing the footrest assembly.
A variety of reclining armchairs with a retractable footrest mechanism has been proposed to improve the comfort of the occupant. Typically, the footrest extending/retracting mechanism is coupled to the backrest reclining system of a recliner armchair. As a consequence, the occupant is not allowed to benefit from the optimal comfort of the footrest since the footrest mechanism is only fully extended at the fully reclined position of the backrest.
Furthermore, in most of the cases, the footrest extension mechanism does not project the footrest plate far forward from the seat, as a linear actuator could do for instance. Therefore, a large footrest plate must be used which, in its retracted position, projects downwards and generally perpendicular to the armchair seat. This closes most of the space between the seat level and the floor at the front of the armchair and prevents the use of the space for storage and hindering free movement of an occupant""s feet.
These footrest mechanisms also generally use a high profile vertical pantograph mechanism to provide the retraction/extension movement of the footrest. Such mechanisms require a large cavity of free space extending deeply beneath a seat frame and behind the front end thereof, and are therefore unsuited for use on a seating unit with restricted unobstructed space availability under the seat, as is the case with many types of rocking armchairs in which cross-members leave a vertical clearance of only a few inches below the seat frame.
A number of alternative devices have been developed to overcome some of the shortcomings and limitations of the above described footrest mechanisms.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,512 issued to Burnett et al. on Sep. 29, 1987 discloses a low profile motor driven screw/drive tube mechanism actuating the backrest and footrest of a recliner chair. Although a relatively low profile of the actuating system is provided by the screw mechanism and enables some space saving, such a mechanism needs an electrically powered motor which is expensive and not practical for most chair applications. Furthermore, the drive system projects far behind the back of the seat frame and actuation of the footrest extension is coupled to the backrest reclining actuation mechanism.
Japanese application JP11253270A, filed by Wada and published on Sep. 21, 1999 discloses a substantially horizontal moving-forward/backward footrest mechanism. This system features a relatively low profile and the extension sliding means allows a small footrest panel to project forwardly from the seat and provide adequate support for the occupant""s legs. Therefore, only a small vertical clearance under the seat frame is required to house the system and enable the footrest panel to retract in its vertical position. Storage space could also be provided under the seat. However, that system also relies on a screw/tube drive mechanism, needing to be either motor or crank powered, which constitutes a major drawback for many potential applications, namely in usual rocking chairs.
A footrest system adapted to a rocking chair is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,367 granted to Rodgers on May 9, 2000. However, the mechanism connecting the footrest plate to the chair uses a vertical pantograph linkage and requires a cavity of at least eight inches high under the seat assembly in its fully retracted position. It is also worth mentioning that the disclosed rocking seating unit does not provide full control of the gliding motion stability during extension of the footrest, such that the occupant may experience uncomfortable feelings and safety may be compromised.
A footrest mechanism comprising a portion linearly projected forwards from an armchair seat through a horizontal pantograph-type linkage is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,535 issued to Lafer on Jul. 21, 1998. Nevertheless, the linearly displaceable flat frame portion is mounted on a main portion of the footrest mechanism articulated with the front end of the support frame of the seat and displaceable from a non-operative position, inferior and adjacent to the support frame, to an operative position projecting forwards from the seat. The extension and retraction of the footrest is accomplished by operating a short lever. Although the main portion of the footrest can be made shorter because of the addition of a linearly actuated portion, the angular displacement of the main portion still requires a free space underneath the seat of height and a depth at least equal to the length of the displaceable footrest portion. Accordingly, such a system could not be adapted to a seating unit having small vertical clearance or a narrow cavity under the seat, or would prevent the use of a major part of any available space for storage.
Although a variety of different footrest mechanisms adapted to seating units have been developed, these mechanisms nevertheless lack important features hindering their use as readily installable low profile modular units for providing a wide range of seating units with a compact, simple, efficient and safe footrest system. Also, no practical solution has been designed to properly fit and use an articulated footrest system in conjunction with a rocking, swivel or reclining chair having only a few inches of vertical clearance under the seat.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an articulated footrest assembly for a seating unit, comprising:
a footrest member moveable between a retracted position and an extended position, and comprising proximal and distal portions;
a telescopic linkage for extending and retracting the footrest member between the retracted and extended positions, the telescopic linkage comprising a stationary support member mounted to the seating unit, a first telescoping arm, and a second telescoping arm, wherein the first telescoping arm has a distal end connected to the proximal portion of the footrest member through a first pivot, and wherein the second telescoping arm has a distal end connected to the footrest member between the proximal and distal portions through a second pivot spaced apart from the first pivot; and
an actuating linkage comprising a first linkage portion interposed between the stationary support member and the first telescoping arm and a second linkage portion interposed between the first and second telescoping arms wherein, when the actuating linkage is operated, the first linkage portion moves the first telescoping arm in one of forward and rearward directions relative to the stationary support member and the second linkage portion moves the second telescoping arm in said one direction relative to the first telescoping arm thereby simultaneously moving the footrest member in said one direction and pivoting the footrest member about the first and second pivots.
The present invention also relates to a reclining rocking chair comprising:
a floor supported chassis carrying a seat support frame having a free space thereunder and a backrest;
an articulated footrest assembly, including:
a footrest member moveable between a retracted position and an extended position, and comprising proximal and distal portions;
a telescopic linkage for extending and retracting the footrest member between the retracted and extended positions, the telescopic linkage comprising a stationary support member mounted to the seat support frame, a first telescoping arm, and a second telescoping arm, wherein the first telescoping arm has a distal end connected to the proximal portion of the footrest member through a first pivot, and wherein the second telescoping arm has a distal end connected to the footrest member between the proximal and distal portions through a second pivot spaced apart from the first pivot; and
an actuating linkage comprising a first linkage portion interposed between the stationary support member and the first telescoping arm and a second linkage portion interposed between the first and second telescoping arms wherein, when the actuating linkage is operated, the first linkage portion moves the first telescoping arm in one of forward and rearward directions relative to the stationary support member and the second linkage portion moves the second telescoping arm in said one direction relative to the first telescoping arm thereby simultaneously moving the footrest member in said one direction and pivoting the footrest member about the first and second pivots.
a reclining backrest pivotally mounted to the seat support frame.
The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non restrictive description of an illustrative embodiment thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.